The Deal We Made
by IamKate
Summary: After a bad day, Leah seeks solace in her work's walk-in freezer. Her co-worker Paul doesn't know the door is broken and they get locked in. As they try to survive, Paul makes Leah a deal she can't refuse. AU. For the "Passionate About Paul" contest.


**Written for the "Passionate About Paul" one-shot contest**

**Pen Name: **I_am_Kate

**Title: **The Deal We Made

**Rating: **M for language and adult content. Don't read if you're underage.

**Primary Players: **Paul/Leah

**Summary: **After a bad day, Leah seeks solace in her work's walk-in freezer. Her co-worker Paul doesn't know the door is broken and they get locked in. As they try to survive the cold, Paul makes Leah a deal she can't refuse. AU. For the "Passionate About Paul" contest.

**Word Count: **4425

**Beta'd by:** Jessica1018

**Disclaimer: **DISCLAIMER: Stephenie Meyer owns the Twilight saga and all its characters. No copyright infringement is intended. No profits have been received in the production of this piece.

**To see other entries in the "Passionate About Paul" contest, please visit**  
**www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/~passionateaboutpaulcontest**

xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx

**The Deal We Made**

_Leah's POV_

I was trying very hard not to cry. It was a personal rule I had. Never cry in public. The only problem was that my emotions were all over the place and the slightest thing could spring the waterworks.

It was bad enough that my boyfriend of two years, Sam, dumped me because he suddenly developed the hots for my cousin overnight. It was bad enough that said cousin turned to my ex after being scarred from a bear attack, and now they were living together while I was left in limbo. Fine. I could handle the shit fest that was my life. But the last fucking straw was the news I got tonight.

You see, Sam and I had plans. We were going to go off to college together. Then he disappears for two weeks, returns, meets my cousin, and bam-Sianora Leah. Now, they were playing happy family, and I was left by myself, working two jobs to keep busy. One was at my dad's business, and the other was working at a restaurant that only opened during the summer season. The place was a dive, but it was either work in this hellhole or spend my nights staring at the walls of my room.

I was coping. In fact, I was handling everything just swimmingly, thank you very much. And then an hour ago my boss, Herb, introduced me to his new hire…Paul.

"Isn't it wonderful?' Herb had whispered mischievously as he eyed Paul cleaning off some tables. "Now we have some eye candy."

Of course that _would_ be why Herb hired him. He liked the pretty boys—hell, his partner was hot. But I had a feeling that Herb hired Paul more for my benefit than his. And that pissed me right the fuck off.

Here I was trying to get an escape from my ex-boyfriend, and Herb hires the one guy who's been following Sam around the rez like a goddamn puppy. They even sported the same haircuts and seemed to have developed an allergy to shirts. Sure, Paul was hot, but he was also known for having a short temper.

And as far as I was concerned, he was guilty by association. If he was a friend of Sam's than he was no friend of mine. If Herb wanted to play matchmaker, he chose the wrong guy. I'd never be interested in someone who blatantly worshipped the man who ripped out my heart and pissed all over it.

Nope. I wasn't having it. Having Paul around was like pouring a mixture of salt and lemon juice on a festering wound. And the asshole actually had the nerve—the very gall—to act like he didn't want to be around me either. Like he was uncomfortable or something. Well, fuck that and him.

"Leah," Herb said now as I stood next to the cash register, silently stewing. "We're pretty slow tonight…"

I looked around the empty restaurant. Well, give the man a cookie. The only one in the seating area was Paul, and he was mindlessly sweeping.

"Why don't you head out?" my boss suggested.

"Okay," I replied, quickly undoing my apron. As I haphazardly walked, I ran smack into Paul.

"Watch it!" I snapped.

He didn't say anything, but his body seemed to tremble slightly. He turned away from me, as if disgusted, and something inside me snapped. The cursed tears I'd been fighting all day surfaced and I couldn't stop them.

I ran for the back of the restaurant. Not wanting to exit the building in case I ran into someone I knew, I headed for the restaurant's ancient walk-in freezer. I quickly looked around with blurry eyes for something to prop open the door. Herb had never bothered to get a door that was up to code and if it shut behind you while you were inside, you were trapped.

Finding a small box to use, I placed it in the opening of the door and walked in. Going around a row of stacked boxes, I kept moving until I was facing the back of the freezer. And then I let loose. I covered my face with my hands and started sobbing my eyes out. I was crying for a good five minutes, shivering from the cool air, when I heard scuffling feet.

Quickly wiping my face, I came out of my hiding spot just in time to see Paul enter the freezer carrying several large boxes. He kicked the smaller box I'd placed in the door and it flew across the floor. He looked down in puzzlement, trying to figure out what he'd hit.

"No!" I yelled out. "Grab the door."

His head jerked in my direction, and then with lightening speed he dropped the boxes he was holding and grabbed wildly for the door handle. But it was too late. It shut with a resounding click. Paul tried to turn the handle, but it wouldn't budge.

"What the hell?" he stated as he jiggled it again.

"You idiot!" I said. "Now we're stuck in here."

Paul began to feel around the frame. "There's got to be a release button to let us out. It's a law."

"In case you missed it, this place isn't exactly up to code," I seethed.

Paul began to pull on the handle with more force. It snapped off in his hand.

"Nice going, jackass," I said angrily. "Got any more brilliant ideas?"

"Well, what did you have in mind, Lee-lee? Staying in here all weekend?" Paul replied through clenched teeth.

I went still. "What did you call me?"

He glanced at me and said uncomfortably, "Nothing."

The only one who ever called me Lee-lee was Sam. It was his pet name for me. I felt myself begin to shake, but I didn't know if it was from the cold air or my anger.

"Has Sam been talking about me?" I asked furiously.

"No!" Paul said.

"Then how did you know his nickname for me?"

"I don't know…maybe I can read his mind," Paul replied sarcastically. "If you don't fucking mind, we have bigger problems than your love life or lack thereof."

I stiffened in indignation. Paul started hitting the door. When it dented, I grabbed his arm.

"Look, all you're doing is making things worse," I stated. "If you keep damaging it, Herb will never get it open."

"Herb won't even know _to_ open it," Paul grumbled as he leaned his head against the door.

"What are you talking about?"

"He's gone," Paul replied.

"What?" I gasped.

"He had a hot date with Salvador. He told me to lock up when I was through putting the boxes in the freezer."

"But…" I was starting to panic. "We can't stay here all night!"

"You can't," Paul muttered so lowly I didn't think I heard him right.

"What?"

"Never mind," he replied as he pulled out his cell phone from his pant pocket. Looking at it, he swore violently. "God dammit! No reception in here."

The cold air was really starting to get to me. Wrapping my arms around myself, I began to search for a possible secret door that I may have missed before. Nothing.

Losing my temper, I got in Paul's face. "This is all your damned fault! Why couldn't you watch where you were going?"

"Well, why the fuck were you hanging out in the freezer?" Paul responded. "If I hadn't kicked that stupid box and gotten distracted, I wouldn't have let the door close behind me!"

"Oh sure!" I yelled. "Blame it on me, you insensitive asshole."

"Maybe if you weren't so preoccupied with yourself, you would have used your brain and not come in here in the first place," Paul replied, getting so close to me our faces were inches apart.

"How dare you!" I snapped. "You have no idea what I've been through lately."

"Yeah, I do. You got dumped. Boo-fucking-hoo."

I shoved him so hard, he hit the rack behind him. He looked almost as surprised as I was. Now shivering, I said, "I-I don't w-want to speak t-to you again until we're o-out of here."

"Fine by me," Paul replied. He went back to pounding on the door, though he did it with less force so that he didn't damage it further. Looking around, I grabbed a cardboard box and emptied it of its frozen food. I undid the tape holding it together and made it flat, so I would have something to sit on.

Sitting down on the floor, I crossed my arms over my chest and buried my hands under my armpits in an attempt to get warm. My teeth were beginning to chatter even louder than Paul's pounding. The noise he was creating stopped and a few seconds later, a t-shirt was shoved in my face.

"Here," he said.

"G-g-go to h-hell," I replied, pushing the proffered hand out of my face.

"Take it before you freeze," he ordered. I looked up and was greeted with a wall of abs.

"Y-you'll f-f-freeze," I said, trying to ignore his naked chest.

"I'll be fine," he stated. "Just take it, Leah."

Given the choice between my stubborn pride and freezing to death, I took the shirt. Drawing it over my head, I kept my arms and knees tucked inside, so it acted as an extra covering. My teeth stopped chattering briefly as I became enveloped in Paul's residing warmth.

"Are you sick?" I had to ask. For the shirt to hold this much warmth in the freezer's current temperature, his body had to be feverous.

"No…I have a genetic condition. My body runs a little higher than normal."

"How high?" I asked.

"About 108.9 degrees."

"Oh…" I said as the cold started to set in again and I began to shiver once more.

Paul started muttering to himself. He looked at me and then began pacing, saying something that sounded like "wish I could phase." I didn't know what the hell he was talking about, and I was too cold to care.

He finally looked around and grabbed a couple of large boxes. Emptying them, he laid them on their sides and looked at me.

"Get in," he said.

"What?" I asked in surprise.

"We need to get you insulated. Get in the box."

Deciding it wasn't worth the energy to argue, I did as instructed. I crawled into the one box, but it only went up to my shoulders. Paul got in next to me.

"What d-do you t-think you're d-d-doing?" I asked.

"Trying to keep you warm," he stated. He reached for the other box and pulled it over our heads, tucking the flaps inside, so that the cold air couldn't seep in. Though we were blocked from the freezer's cold air, I still couldn't stop trembling.

"All right, look," Paul finally said. "The only way to prevent you from dying of hypothermia is if we get a little closer. Agreed?"

"F-fine," I said.

He hesitantly reached for me and I just as reluctantly leaned toward him. I laid across his chest and placed my head against his heart region, listening to its steady beat. He wrapped his arms around me and I let out a little sigh of contentment. I felt slightly better, but it wasn't enough to take the chill out of my body. Every so often, I would let out a shiver. Paul moved his legs so that they were on either side of me.

"Any better?" he asked.

"A little, but I'm still really cold," I said, thankful that my teeth were no longer chattering.

Sighing, he said, "I've got an idea and you probably won't like it, but it's your best chance at not freezing to death."

"What's that?"

"Skin to skin contact," Paul said simply.

"You're right. I don't like it."

"Fine." I felt him shrug indifferently. "Freeze."

A suspicion grew inside me and I started to get angry again. "You did this on purpose, didn't you?"

"What the hell are you babbling about now?" Paul asked.

"You locked us in here on purpose, didn't you? So that you could take advantage of me."

I felt Paul tremble and I was suddenly pushed off him. He stated coldly, "Contrary to what your oversized ego might believe, not all the guys around here want to jump you. If I want a woman, I sure as fuck don't need to set anything up. They come to me. And they keep coming back, because I make them feel so good, they don't even remember their own name by the time we're done."

"Now who's being egotistical," I muttered.

"It's the truth," Paul replied matter-of-factually. "And just to reassure you further, if I ever _did_ want to take advantage of a woman, it certainly wouldn't be you."

"What does that mean?"

"You were Sam's," he said simply.

"What? Am I off limits now?" I asked, so affronted that I conveniently forgot I didn't want him taking advantage of me in the first place. Unable to hide the hurt I was now feeling, I whispered, "Do guys on the rez see me as damaged goods? Or s-sloppy seconds?"

"No," Paul replied, frustration evident in his voice. I wished I could see his face, but the inside of box was too dark for me to make out anything more than a shadow. I heard him take a deep breath as he said, "Look, you're cold, I'm offering you a solution. Take it or leave it."

My body was already screaming at me to take the deal, but my head was shouting warning messages. Finally, I was too cold to resist any longer.

"Fine," I muttered.

I felt him move and heard his pants being unzipped. I reached for his shirt, which I was still wearing, and pulled it off along with my own shirt. I undid my pants and shimmied out of them.

"Are you going to leave your underwear and bra on?" Paul asked.

"How did you know I'm still wearing any? It's pitch black in here."

He was quiet for a second before saying, "I didn't hear them come off."

"Aren't you wearing any?" I squeaked.

Paul laughed cockily and said, "I never do."

I felt his hand brush my leg and then heard my clothes being rustled. "Here Leah, lay down so your back is against the clothes."

I felt his hand on my hip and I was guided back to the middle of the box with unnerving accuracy. My head lay against my bundled up pants, giving me a slight pillow. Soon, Paul was on top of me, his arms and legs going on either side of me. His chest lowered and then pressed against mine. I felt his face draw nearer until his hair brushed my cheek.

"Is this better?" Paul asked quietly in my ear.

I was cocooned in warmth. He was somehow holding himself off me in a way that didn't crush me, but still touched every part of me. The coldness left me completely.

"Mmhmm," I replied, my arms going around his back. I had to ask, "Won't you get tired of holding yourself in that position?

"Don't worry about it."

"If you get tired, let me know. You're not inhuman, you know."

"I'll be fine," he replied dryly.

We stayed like that for a few minutes when my mind drifted back to our earlier conversation. I wondered if the rest of the guys on the rez saw me as Sam's sloppy seconds. The idea made me teary eyed and before I knew it, I was silently crying.

"What's wrong?" Paul questioned.

"Nothing," I said.

"Am I hurting you?"

"No…it's not that," I replied and then became weepier.

"What is it?" Paul asked impatiently.

"Me, okay," I finally admitted. "I _am_ sloppy seconds."

Paul sounded exasperated as he said, "For fuck's sake, don't listen to me, Leah."

"No, it's true," I said insistently.

"Any guy would kill to have to you."

"Yeah right."

"I mean it," he replied. "You want me to prove it to you?"

"How?" I blubbered. I felt his face move, but was still surprised when I felt his lips brush mine. My entire mouth began to tingle.

"Sorry," he said, pulling back slightly. "I shouldn't have done that. I just hate when chicks start crying."

I didn't say anything.

"I'm really sorry, okay?" Paul insisted. "I don't want you to think I'm taking _advantage _of you or anything."

He started to shift away from me, but I tightened my hold on him.

"Paul…" I said. "The past few months have been absolute shit for me."

"I know," he responded. And for a brief moment I truly felt like he _did _understand what I'd been going through.

"Can you really make women forget everything…even their own name?"

I heard him snicker. "Oh sure."

"Do you…" I started to say hesitantly. "Do you think you can make _me_ forget everything…just for a little while? No strings attached. We'll go our separate ways once we get out of here, and we'll never bring it up again. Deal?"

"Are you serious?" he asked in surprise.

"I wouldn't have asked otherwise," I replied shortly.

Paul was quiet for a moment as though weighing his options. Finally, he said, "Leah, think. Is this really what you want?"

I didn't say anything. Instead, I cupped his neck with my hand and brought his mouth back to mine. Our lips crashed together in heated exchange. My tongue jutted into the recesses of his mouth and I whimpered as his tongue flickered against mine. As our mouths continued to move together, my hands began to explore the hard muscles of his back. He shifted so that one of his legs rested between my thighs. He pressed it against my moistening center and I rocked back and forth against him so that he was aware of my growing need.

He made a groaning noise and moved so that both of his legs were between mine. He lay fully on top of me. I felt his hardening arousal against my skin. Unable to resist, I moved my hand between our bodies and clasped him between my fingers.

"Fuck," he muttered as I began to move up and down his smoothness. After a few strokes, he grabbed my hand and maneuvered it so that I was grasping his ass.

"Sorry," he said. "But if you keep that up, this'll be over before we've even gotten started."

I dug my nails into his fleshy bottom in retribution and he chuckled in return. He bent and kissed my shoulder right next to my bra strap. He placed his fingers underneath it and slowly coaxed it down. He repeated the same step with the other strap, loosely binding my upper arms to my sides. He moved his mouth to the top area of my breast and gave it a kiss. Moving his hand to the middle of my bra, he yanked it down, exposing me to him.

"You're beautiful," he whispered.

I was about to ask him how he could tell, but then he took my nipple in his mouth and began to worship it with his tongue. He didn't ignore the other breast, running his thumb repeatedly over the tip, sometimes giving it a little pinch. I lost all ability to concentrate. When he started to lightly pull on my nipple with his teeth, I threw my head back in pleasure. When he began to suckle me, my hands flew to his hair as I held him to me.

"Oh God…you're really fucking g-good at this," I said as I tried to catch my breath. I felt him smile against my skin.

"I haven't even started yet."

With that promise lingering in the air, I felt his hands travel down my body to my hips. I heard a ripping noise and my panties were quickly disposed of. His fingers danced across my upper leg before making slow sensual circles on my inner thigh. He then repeated the same pattern to my other thigh, never touching me where I wanted him to.

Tired of his games, I demanded, "Will you do it already!"

He chuckled wickedly but complied, moving his torturous fingers to the bundle of nerves that rested at the center of me. My back arched in response. Just when I felt like I was on the verge of peaking, he stopped, leaving his hand to hover over my femininity.

"Goddamn you," I cursed him in frustration. He laughed again before moving his fingers to my very core. Placing first one finger inside me, then another, he caressed me, touching me in just the right spot over and over again until I reached my crescendo and went soaring. Before I could even come down, he pulled away and I heard the sound of a package ripping open.

"What are you doing?" I asked, bringing a shaking hand to my face.

"Condom."

"You always carry condoms on you?" I asked half-heartedly.

"I never leave home without one," he said lightly as he repositioned himself at my entrance and pressed inside.

My arms went around him as we moved in perfect harmony. The pleasure began to build slowly until the pacing changed and we became frantic. I felt myself finally tauten and I exploded. Paul thrust a few more times before yelling out his own release.

He collapsed against me, but I barely felt his weight as my heartbeat raced in my ears. Cradling him to me, I whispered, "thank you" over and over again. He drew in a shaky breath and nodded before slowly withdrawing from me. I stretched slightly as a grin appeared on my face. Amazing that we were stuck in this godforsaken freezer and I had sweat now covering my body.

His fingers brushed against the curve of my cheek. "Hey Leah?"

"Hmm?"

"About our deal…"

"Yeah?"

"What if we kept on se—?"

He froze in mid-sentence and then jerked off me as he began swearing. I lifted up so that I could rest on my elbows.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

He reached beneath me and yanked out the clothes I was lying on. "Someone's here."

I grabbed a shirt and yanked it on, straining my ears to hear anything. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," he said as he handed me my pants. Just then the door opened.

"Anyone in here?" Herb called out.

"We're here," Paul replied. He moved my trembling hands out of the way and finished doing my pants up. I felt him shove my bra and ripped panties in my pant pockets before he pushed the boxes apart.

Herb stood over us, his face pale, but his eyes assessing. "Are you two all right? I got a call from Leah's dad. He said you didn't return home tonight so I decided to check the restaurant. When I saw the light was still on and the door unlocked, I remembered asking Paul to bring something in here. I was worried one of you might have gotten locked in here…"

Before he could say anything else, Paul stood up, "Yeah, we're all right, but what the fuck kind of place is this? We could have died in here."

"I'm so sorry," Herb whispered. I felt Paul's gaze on me.

When I didn't meet his eyes, he said, "To hell with this. I'm not going to work in a place that's a safety hazard. I quit."

With that, he stormed out. I felt shell-shocked. I couldn't believe what I'd just done…with Paul of all people. Giving Herb reassurances that I was all right, I made my way slowly home. After giving my parents a brief rundown of what happened—leaving out the part where I had sex with Paul—I made my way into the bathroom and took a much needed warm shower.

I felt disgusted with myself, though I couldn't blame Paul. We had made a deal, and he only stuck with his side of the bargain. I couldn't even say he took advantage of my vulnerable state because I knew full well that I'd been using him to forget Sam.

I didn't see Paul much after that night. We got good at avoiding each other, though I'd sometimes see him running around the rez with Sam and their friend, Jared. Rumors began to spread that they were in a gang. They got new members when Embry Call and Jacob Black began to hang out with them.

I couldn't help but feel hurt by Paul's cold behavior. I mean, he did exactly what I'd asked him to. We had sex…no strings attached. But it still hurt for him to completely ignore me, especially as our night together had been so incredibly good. It wasn't until months later when I phased for the first time that I understood.

I experienced first hand Paul's "genetic condition." I knew why the icy temperatures of the freezer hadn't affected him as they had me. And I understood why he'd distanced himself from me.

It was because the pack could share each other's minds. In Paul's own way, he tried to protect me by burying our night together so deep inside him, none of the other wolves ever guessed what had happened between us. Of course, he also was protecting himself. He sure as hell didn't want his Alpha to find out about our little sexcapade. That broke guy code. You didn't boink your friends' exes.

As for me, I moved on remarkably well from that night after I first phased. Mainly because I had been so pissed about having to share a mind with Sam, I rarely gave a second thought to my romp with Paul. There might have been slipups when we'd see each other naked right after phasing, but if either one of us ever revealed too much about our past, the pack was smart enough to never bring it up…at least, not to our faces.

Almost a year after I'd slept with Paul, he ran into Rachel Black one day on a beach and imprinted. A year after that, I quit the pack and went out to explore the world, finding my own soul mate along the way.

Though Paul and I rarely socialize nowadays, whenever we do get together, neither one of us ever acknowledges our secret past.

But sometimes our eyes will meet and I know we're both remembering.

We've moved on…but neither of us have forgotten the deal we made.

xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx

**End Note: If you read my Imprint Saga, this story isn't related to it. Thanks for reading! Comments are welcome.**


End file.
